AP Exclusive: Full-blown boycott pushed for Beijing Olympics

UNDATED (AP)- Groups alleging human-rights abuses against minorities in China are calling for a full-blown boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. The move is likely to ratchet up pressure on the International Olympic Committee, athletes, sponsors and sports federations. A coalition representing Uyghurs, Tibetans, residents of Hong Kong and others have issued a statement calling for the boycott. The Beijing Games are set to open on Feb. 4, 2022. That is six months after the postponed Summer Olympics in Tokyo are to end. A recent U.S. State Department report stated explicitly that “genocide and crimes against humanity” have taken place in the past year against Muslim Uyghurs and other minorities in northwestern China.